Ramphele slams wasteful spending

Politics / 22 March 2014, 3:11pm

WEEKEND ARGUS REPORTER

Cape Town. 210314. Mamphela Aletta Ramphele born 28 December 1947) South African politician and leader of AGANG a former activist against apartheid, a medical doctor, an academic and businesswoman was part of the Human Rights Day Celebrations in Langa. Picture Leon Lestrade. Story Henriette Geldenhuys

Cape Town - Agang leader Dr Mamphela Ramphele told her party’s supporters in Langa on Friday that the nearly R215 million spent on President Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla homestead could have been used to employ thousands of nurses, teachers or police officers.

The Nkandla debacle showed “how government violates people’s socio-economic rights”, she declared, saying the money should rather have been used to upgrade informal settlements.

“Instead it’s used for Zuma, who needs pavements and a firepool,” she told about 200 Agang members who gathered at the Pandulwazi Centre to mark Human Rights Day on Friday.

Ramphele urged the Agang members to use their votes to get rid of Zuma and the ANC in the May 7 general elections.

“We have the power to remove the president and the ANC,” she told them.

Her supporters wore green T-shirts imprinted with the words: Agang: Restoring the promise of freedom.

Ramphele accused the ANC-controlled government of ruling with “total impunity”.

“The level of impunity shocks me. They’re there for one person,” she said, accusing the ANC of spending R50-million on their Sharpeville rally on Friday.

“It was supposed to be a state event, but it was an ANC rally. That’s another form of corruption,” she said, urging people to “stop this corrupt regime”.

“There’s very little time between now and May 7, but every day counts.

“We have to mobilise to build a South Africa where human rights are respected, to get a government by the people for the people.

“We need to build a clean, efficient government.”

Agang, Ramphele said, did not believe in expropriation of land without compensation.

“Our constitution doesn’t allow us to do that.”

Land reform and land redistribution were, however, “incomplete” in South Africa, with only seven percent of land transferred to the disadvantaged, rather than the 30 percent promised.